Buffy glanced at the dim exterior of the club, a long line of people already waiting outside, and sighed. What was she doing? Was she really about to go spend an evening with Cordelia Chase? No amount of free alcohol was worth that. The eagerness she had shown earlier in the afternoon had quickly dissipated on her way home as the reality of what she had agreed to became apparent. Buffy had been running from her past for so long, making concerted efforts to stay away from anything slayer-y, demon-y, apocalypty, and here she was, agreeing to go out with Cordelia Chase, a reminder of everything she was trying to leave behind.

Wait, hold up. 'Go out'? It's not like this is a date. This is drinks-free drinks--nothing more. And why are you even thinking this?

Tossing her money at the driver, she quickly exited the cab, slamming the door shut behind her. Rafe had said he would be waiting for her at the bar, but he didn't say if he had put her name on the list. Taking a chance, she walked up to the burly, tattooed bouncer and tapped him on the shoulder. His glare would have sent anyone else running, but Buffy had faced much scarier demons on a nightly basis than this guy could ever dream of being.

"Hi. Uhm, is Buffy Summers on the list?"

The bouncer checked his list and, finding her name, silently let her pass. With a short nod, she walked to the entrance, taking another deep breath before opening the door to the club. The 80s music blaring from the speakers throughout the room greeted her as she entered the smoky room. The strobe lights on the dance floor were the only lights in the room aside from the dim glow at the bar. Not feeling up to dancing just yet, Buffy made her way over to the bar. Relieved when she saw Rafe behind the counter, her luck grew when she snagged an empty spot. She waved slightly at Rafe when he glanced her way and waited for him to take her order.

Rafael took the glass and refilled her drink, twirling the bulky Amaretto bottle. Learning fancy bar moves had been one of the harder things he had done and he considered himself kinesthetically gifted. "Be kind to me."

Buffy grinned as she watched Rafe twirl the heavy glass bottle, the amber colored liquid sloshing against the sides. She clapped lightly when he poured her another drink. "Very nicely done. You could be the next Tom Cruise. Well, the non-crazy, used to be cute Tom Cruise."

She leaned forward slightly and rested her elbows on the bar. "You wanna hear stories about Cordelia? Two words: Homecoming Queen. Okay, so she wasn't exactly Homecoming Queen--we both lost and that's a story I'm not getting into--but she was that type: most popular girl in school, the bitchiest girl in school, and so on. We were never friends but we did hang out. And that's all you're getting until I'm a lot more drunk," she grinned at him.

"Please, if I ever get as crazy as Tom Cruise, please shoot me," Rafael replied, then filled a beer mug for another customer. "So, homecoming queen wannabe's both? I know the type." And he did. He had used them as beards in high school, smart enough to know the mostly Puerto Rican- Italian school public school he had gone to would never have accepted his actual orientation. "I think I dated her counterpart once. And if I want you drunker, I'm going have to switch you to something stronger but still tasty."

OOC: Sheesh, nothing like almost a week late in responding. Sorry about that.

BIC:

"Hit me, then," Buffy grinned. "Well, don't actually hit me. Just more drink, okay?" As Rafe poured her a shot of vodka, she continued. "I used to be like that--homecoming queen, actually I was Fiesta Queen, most popular bitch-- but then I moved to Sunnydale. My life went from boys and gossip to stak-.." Realizing she was getting too close to the truth, she quickly shut her mouth. "Well, things changed," she mumbled as Rafe pushed the shot glass toward her. Taking a deep breath, she took the shot, grimacing as the vodka burned her throat. "So, where is Queen C anyway?" she asked as a distraction.

Buffy shrugged. The cold had been a shock. She didn't have a lot of money for winter clothes so she had to make do with a few key pieces and her California wardrobe. "I'm getting there, I guess. Very different from the weather I grew up with but hey, change is always good, right?"

New York had been an even bigger adjustment. The sheer number of people and the constant buzz of the city wore on Buffy her first few weeks in the city. Even though she grew up in Los Angeles, that city never had the sense of life that NYC had. She could see why people never wanted to live New York...